The Phoenix's Talon
by Lord Vastria
Summary: A lone boy living in a orphanage after his parents were killed by an underground cult stumbles upon a wounded phoenix in the garden by his orphanage. This discovery sets his life on its head as he becomes educated and eventually learns of his heritage.
1. Lament of Innocence

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling and never will be, much to my dismay.

Lament of Innocence

A lone child walked through the ashes that once composed his house. He crouched and sifted the ash with is hand. He was a smart boy, he knew his mom and dad were not coming back but he just could not understand why. He felt a few of his tears fall to the ground and he angrily rubbed at his eyes. He stood up again and walked towards the gate. To leave and find where he would go.

He knew there was an orphanage nearby and he knew for certain there were kind people there. He had heard horror stories from his friends at school about abusive caretakers and meager portions of food but he knew this place was a good place for him. His heart set he strolled towards the building, located two blocks away. He never even heard the sound of flame rushing or the beautiful song that floated on the wind. The phoenix behind him, borne of pain and loss flew away not having noticed the human that had called it.

End Prologue


	2. Cold Demons!

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, never was, and never will be.

Cold Demons!?!

It was a blustery December morning when Harrison Brahms awoke. December 2, 1987 to be exact. He was not happy when he heard an energetic voice yell, Wake up, wake up, it's your birthday!"

"Couldn't you have bloody let me sleep in on my birthday!?!"

The energetic child smugly replied with, "No."

"You know what, I'll go down to breakfast, eat, open my presents, then rest for two hours. Two hours do you hear me, that's how long I want to and will be sleeping"

"Harrison, eye's twitching." He said in a singsong voice.

Taking a breath, Harrison calmly elbowed the young boy who promptly began to chase him down the stairs and past the front door. However, they never made it past the front door as Harrison had slipped on the mail that layed in a neat pile in front of the door. "Ouch!" Harrison exclaimed.

"You should go get the paper. It's your job today."

"Fine." the newly eight year old child pouted. I'll do it.

Taking a moment to grab his heavy winter coat from the long rack by the door he pulled it open and strode outside. He began to wade through the foot of snow on the ground and had almost reached the sidewalk when he tripped and fell into the bushes, right in front of a large source of heat. This flaming thing seemed to be a bird. But Harrison knew better, it was obviously a demon. Ms. Trefler, their caretaker had had them grow up as Christians. She had taught them prayers and they said them before bed and dinner.

So feeling he was doing his duty as a Christian he promptly grabbed the bird and stuck it under the snow, hoping to suffocate it. The bird, very annoyed at the humans actions promptly bit him. This caused him to cry and the Phoenix recognized the tears and the sorrow they held. He was the one who had answered the call many years ago. He let out a trill and began to invoke the rite of bonding in his own language when he realized that he couldn't. He was too close to a burning day, far to weak to do something like that. Most Phoenixes couldn't ever bond if the backlash of energy from summoning them didn't do it, even if it was the day after a burning day.

He had to stay close to the boy until he could bond to him. Putting on a bit of a show the phoenix acted like it was dying from the cold. Being the noble child he was Harrison quickly grabbed him and stuck him in his jacket. Forgetting entirely the he had thought the phoenix was a demon the bird noted dryly. The boy zipped up his jacket to keep in the phoenix and stumbled out of the bushes grabbing the paper quickly and hurrying back inside his own footsteps. The phoenix let out a sigh of relief and got itself comfortable. Hoping he could do the ritual soon.

A.N.

I have not done much writing so all constructive criticism is appreciated. I'm going to say it flat out; Harrison is not going to be in a relationship unless It is in popular demand from the reviewers I hope I will have by then. I have not decided what house Harrison will be in. However it will not be Gryffindor. Anyone at all who knows where the Prologue title come from deserves a cookie.

-Lord Vastria


	3. Birthday Surprises

Disclaimer: There is only one possible way I could become JK Rowling and that involves magic.

Birthday Presents

As Harrison stepped back inside the reality of what had just happened hit him. He had just grabbed something that Ms. Trefler would think was a demon. And probably try to kill it too. "_I have to hide this!" _ Stepping back inside the house he took off his heavy coat and promptly ran up the stairs to hide the phoenix in his closet. He put it on a raised ledge high above his head and hurried downstairs with the paper.

Stepping into the kitchen he was met with the smell of waffles cooking and he smiled happily; waffles were his favorite food. He sat down next to Alex and thought for a moment and scooted one seat to the left to sit at the head of the table. _I don't trust him right now._ Slowly his dorm mates began to trickle in.

The orphanage was very small, there were not many orphans in the countryside. The cults usually didn't attack people in the country but his parents, he had learned in his second year at the orphanage, were strong protestors of the cults and had caught many members. So the cults promptly burned down their house. Harrison had however been coming home from school and saw all that remained of his house were the ashes.

The third orphan to enter the room was Jeremy. He had been attacked in his own home and had lost his hearing from falling rubble. After this he lived on the streets until he finally was brought to the orphanage.

The fourth and final orphan to enter was named Jane. Or at least that was what they called her. She had originally lived in London but was adopted by a single father. They had moved to the country side and the father had been found to be abusive. Therefore she too came to the orphanage.

As everyone finished their breakfast Ms. Trefler brought them into the living room for presents. Harrison didn't have too many but he didn't really care about that. Reaching for the nearest present he determined it was from Jeremy. Quickly ripping the paper off he realized it was a tiny Glass sphere from the Second Hand store in the village. Jeremy had evidently seen Harrison eyeing it the last time they were there. "Thanks Jeremy, I wanted this a lot!" Harrison exclaimed. The second present he reached for was from Jane. It was a pretty green rock from the beach. It sparkled and had what seemed to be light inside it. "Thank you, I love it!" "You're welcome." Jane replied. Grabbing Ms. Trefler's present he ripped it open to find a small pack of wood. Ms. Trefler said, "I know you like whittling so I got you these, there are some ash, holly, yew, and a bit of Oak and Beech." Harrison's reply showed his happiness, "Thank you so much, I love it!" After Harrison calmed down he reached for his last present, the one from Alex. He unwrapped it to find a small carved hawk with a base so it could stand up. "It's really cool, did you carve it yourself?" "Yeah." Alex replied shyly.

The presents done, Ms. Trefler asked Harrison what he would like to do for the day.

"I suppose it would be fun to head into London," Ms. Trefler said, "OK, Get your coats and lets go!"

Ten minutes later they were all strapped into their seats in the car and were on their way to London. In the car Harrison was playing around with the sphere and was looking at things through it. He looked at his wood and it was glowing green. He couldn't find anything else glowing in the car so he looked outside at the buildings and people. Every so often he would see someone who was glowing. They mainly were glowing white but he saw a person who glowed black and Harrison shuddered involuntarily. All of the sudden he spotted a building that was glowing really white. Someone walked out, shivered, and waved a stick he was holding. There was a flare of red and the man started glowing red too. Harrison shrugged and they continued on.

They eventually stopped and got out of the car. Ms. Trefler said they could go around and explore the shops but to be back in 30 minutes. Harrison quickly jogged off, his money jingling in his pocket.

He walked around all the stores and found one with cool odds and ends in it although the owner had a very grumpy disposition. Harrison looked at a weird mirror and was surprised to see a person that looked like him but was shadowy and had his back turned. He also spotted a weird glass ball with a gold band that had white smoke in it. He grew hungry and walked out into the street looking for food.

He spotted a pub and decided to eat there. Strolling inside he walked up to the counter and grabbed a menu and decided on a sandwich. Catching the attention of the Bartender he asked for the sandwich and promptly got it. He felt good after he had finished it and was surprised when the bartender asked for 4 sickles. "What is a sickle? All I have are pounds." The bartender looked startled for a moment and then said, "Well in that case, 2 pounds." Harrison handed him the money and left the pub to meet Ms. Trefler. He felt really cold and wished he was warmer. Then he felt the temperature increase drastically around him and felt much better, albeit surprised .

After 10 minutes of searching for Ms. Trefler Harrison was beginning to realize he was lost. He had been searching and was really scared. He then had an idea "_Maybe I can use that weird power again!"_ He concentrated really hard and felt him pop in front of the car. He was surprised and then fell to the ground exhausted. He unconsciously felt Ms. Trefler pick him up and put him in the car.

He slept through the ride and only woke up the next day.

A.N

OK, I need a beta badly. I am not very good on the punctuation front and so I would like if I could find one. Cookie to the person who can find out what the items inside the weird shop were, They are all on the HP Lexicon.


	4. Revelations

Disclaimer: If I was JK Rowling I would not be writing this story and instead be writing Deathly Hallows. I am NOT JK Rowling.

When Harrison woke the next day he checked on his weird bird only to find that it was on fire. Harrison was really scared and started crying when it turned to ashes. He was about to pick up the ashes when a small head popped out. It trilled and Harrison realized this was no normal bird. He was about to leave it alone when the bird trilled again and Harrison felt a huge surge of something explode outwards from the bird. Then, he heard a voice in his head,

"_Hello, my friend." _

" _Who are you?" _

"_I am Seneril." _

"_What exactly are you?" _

"_I, my friend, am a Phoenix." _

"_A Phoenix? What's that?" _

"_We are firebirds gifted with many magical powers." _

"_Magic!?!" _

"_Yes, Magic, you too are gifted with magic although you don't know it." _

"_Is that how I was able to heat up and warp?" _

"_You are correct."_

"_I need to get breakfast but one last question, why are you with me? I am just an insignificant child!"_

"_Nothing is as it seems my friend…"_

Seneril then disappeared to leave Harrison pondering their talk.

That night, just as Harrison was nodding off to sleep, he heard something outside. Their were two voices talking, "…have some fun, maybe bring one home."

"The Dark Lord would prefer us to do or job."

"I don't think he would object to some fun with any muggles would he?"

"If he is _displeased_ it is your fault."

"Very well, let's start with this house."

Harrison heard a small rustle and then 'Alohamora'. He heard the front door open and ran downstairs only to find two black-cloaked men holding sticks walking through the door. Harrison took a step back and they spotted him. They stood in place for a second before raising their sticks and saying 'Avada Kedavra!'. Harrison however had already ran up to his room and gotten his stuff. He hurried out to the others' rooms to wake them up. He found Seneril in Jane's room and as he stepped in the men ascended the stairs. When they spotted him they shot red beams of light at him and Seneril told him to touch him. Harrison felt a wave of heat wash over him and they disappeared.

With a heavy heart Seneril ghosted through Harrison's mind shielding some thoughts from view. Sad that he even had to do this he returned again to sleep

Harrison groaned and rubbed his eyes. He was in an alleyway next to a Phoenix. Then the previous night's events came rushing back and he checked that he was OK.

When he was satisfied that he was he turned to Seneril and then realized he did not know how to initiate the mind talking. Shrugging he tried to make a tendril of his mind fly out and then immediately regretted it as he felt as if he ran into a brick wall. Then he heard a voice laughing in his mind, _"That was quite entertaining."_

"_Oh, thanks."_

"_I suppose it's not your fault you don't know about Occlumency."_

"_Occlumency?"_

"_The art of protecting the mind."_

"_Is there any possible way I could learn this?"_

"_Yes, you will be with me until you are eleven."_

"_OK, what should I do right now?"_

"_Wait one second"_

Seneril seemed to concentrate then a small glass vial appeared with a stopper.

"_Stick out your hand"_

"_Why?"_

"_Just do it, you will see later."_

Harrison held out his hand and Seneril's beak flashed leaving a drop of blood trickling down his hand.

"_Put it in the vial."_

"_Why?"_

"_You ask too many questions, just do it."_

"_Okay, we are going to head to Diagon Alley, more specifically Gringotts."_

"_What is Gringotts?"_

"_A bank."_

"_OK."_

Seneril had Harrison grab on to his tail feathers. With another flash they found themselves in the lobby of a huge bank. There were what looked like short, angry, and shriveled humans walking around. They did not notice their new arrivals until Seneril trilled. This seemed to lift up something and the short people noticed them. Seneril established a connection with Harrison and began to instruct him. _"Go up to a desk and say you would like to make a withdrawal. Then say you don't have your key but you can do a blood test in order to recover it. Head to vault 687 and their should be some money. Take a couple handfuls of gold coins and put them in your pocket. Then ask if you could convert them into pounds. I will be waiting outside the bank."_

Harrison followed the instructions and came outside to meet Seneril with the money in his pockets. He grabbed Seneril's feathers and they came up in front of a small agency that sold flats. Seneril had Harrison buy a nice but not too expensive flat (With the aid of a couple of glamour, levitation, and voice changing charms on the part of Seneril) With the key in hand Harrison had Seneril flame to their new flat.

As they entered the flat Harrison sighed and set his bags down and got out his penknife and wood to start whittling something. As Harrison took out the holly however Seneril stopped him with a shout in his mind, _"What type of wood is that?"_

"_Holly."_

"_This makes things a lot easier! Harrison carve that into a stick about 11 inches long. Wait, dang it… We need a gem to focus the power."_

"_I have a weird gem that I'm not sure is real, could it work?"_

_  
"Get it out and show me."_

Harrison made a show of rummaging through his bag. He pulled it out and showed it to the curious phoenix. The equivalent of surprise showed up on the Phoenix's face.

"_That is a very rare type of stone called a Mage Gem, wherever did you find this?"_

"_One of my friends gave it to me."_

"_Very well, in any case, continue to carve that stick and give it a nice handle. Oh and make sure you hollow it out."_

After Harrison was finished he asked Seneril what he should do out loud.

"_Pull of one of my tail feathers and put it inside, then put the gem on top."_

"_But it won't work!"_

"_Just do it anyway."_

"_Whatever."_

As he put in the feather Seneril trilled and the hole sealed itself and the gem melted onto the top. _"Voila, your very own wand!" announced Seneril loudly in his mind._

"_What do I do with this?"_

"_Why, I shall train you in magic!"_

Thus begin his training.

A.N.

Woot, 4 pages even though most of it is the fact that you need a new paragraph every time you have a new speaker in a conversation. In a fit of lots of inspiration I decided that Harrison in fact _will _be Harry Potter however I am at a loss as to how I will reveal him. Thanks to my small albeit loyal reviewers and readers!

-Lord Vastria


	5. The Letter

Disclaimer: If I'm JK Rowling then Snape's hair is wonderful and not greasy at all. I am in not in any way, shape, or form JK Rowling

Harrison had been training with Seneril for two, almost three, years and was quite skilled in a lot of things. One of the first things he had been taught was looking at auras and how to decipher them. This helped him immensely as auras also showed your mood. Harrison had gotten a nice trunk a long time ago. This one had a rather rough room that was underground along with the usual compartments and Harrison had for a project made himself a stone palace using reducto, reparo, the sticking charm, and conjuring things. Harrison had also gotten himself an Ollivander's wand and another familiar: a nice green snake he had found in a forest one day. He had also tried to gain an animagus form however this was impossible as whenever he transformed the magical energy overloaded his core and he was knocked out and returned to his human form. Seneril had told him what this meant but was very cryptic about it: _"You must be patient, soon you shall understand how to transform."_

Harrison was know able to wandlessly cast 1st year spells and soundlessly cast up to 2nd year spells. However the only spell he could do both together with was lumos, he couldn't even cast nox with both.

Seneril had also been teaching him the non spell based classes too although it was somewhat hard to learn potions with a phoenix. Harrison was also transported to a random forest every so often to learn to care for magical creatures.

Then a letter arrived.

It was innocent enough, apart from the seal on the back. Seneril had been educating him about Hogwarts, its teachers, and its prank opportunities. The last one however was quite strange for a phoenix to be teaching. However, he knew his stuff and had a weird piece of parchment to give to him when he was finished. His only hint was that he had to say he was pranking. Harry was curious as to how the phoenix had even procured this piece of parchment and instead returned to his letter.

It had no return address and was written in a vibrant emerald green ink detailing its addressee to be Harrison Brahms, Left Bed, Flat 12, London, but wait, that wasn't Harrison Brahms, it was Harry Potter! Harrison then realized something, he thought back to a long time ago, to a conversation that ended with the sentence "_Nothing is as it seems my friend…"_ In a fit of inspiration Harrison pointed his wand at his head and said 'finite incantatem.' Glancing into his mirror he then realized there was a scar on his forehead and his hair was black and he was a whole lot more different. He was a lot more muscular too. His eyes widening with surprise he realized that he should probably open his letter. Slitting open the envelope he pulled out the paper and began to read

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment_

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

(PS C4)

Shrugging, Harry pulled the attached supply list off the letter

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

Uniform

_First-year students will require:_

_Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

Set Books

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk_

A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot_

Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling_

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch_

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore_

Magic Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger_

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander_

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble_

Other Equipment

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad "Well that's shot to hell" Harry thought_

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS _"As is that." _

(PS C5)

Grabbing and adjacent piece of parchment Harrison wrote a positive reply and sent it back with the owl it came with. Harry called Seneril and explained to him how he had found out. Harry's Leglimency skills had too been advancing. _"Well, you are correct, you are Harry Potter but I must insist you continue to wear your glamour."_

"_Who cast that glamour on me?"_

"_That would be Dumbeldore, when your parents went into hiding."_

"_OK, can you reapply it?"_

"_Unfortunately, no. You have to do it, point your wand at your head and say 'Vultus Pulchellus' while keeping a firm image of what you want to look like in your mind."_

"_Alright, thank you."_

With that finished and his money in hand, Harrison started walking towards what he now knew was The Leaky Cauldron. Stepping into the back he tapped the bricks to enter Diagon Alley.

The first store he entered was the Cauldron Shop where he got his pewter cauldron, albeit with a little "Enhancements". No spells could be cast at the cauldron and only ingredients he had put in would enter. He also picked up his telescope and scales.

Running across the street to the apothecary he picked up some basic ingredients along with a some crystal phials and a couple of unicorn hairs to go with his new habit of wandmaking.

He then stepped into the stationary shop where got five self-inking quills and 25 rolls of parchment (with flame-resistant charms) before walking into the adjacent Flourish and Blotts to pick up his books.

As Harrison picked up the small amount of books he needed he grabbed another on animagus transformation. _"I need to keep working on that."_

Walking into Madam Malkin's Harrison was surprised to see only one boy there. He had an aristocratic face and Harrison could tell he was a pureblood. He however also had a permanent sneer and Harrison started disliking him more by the second. Then Madam Malkin herself looked up and spotted him, "Hogwarts robes?"

"Well, yes, but could you also give them flame resisting and auto-warming and cooling charms?

"Sure, but it will cost extra, I'm not sure you could afford it."

"Believe me, I can."

"Very well."

Slipping a large scratchy robe over his head she started to shorten it with magic. It eventually fit perfectly and she ushered Harrison outside while she worked.

To pass the time Harrison headed towards Florean Fortescue's and picked up some ice cream. Eventually Madam Malkin signaled out the front window of her shop and Harrison trudged over again. Picking up the robes and paying Harrison sadly finished up the last of his ice cream and headed towards his last stop, Randog and Sons, the goblin run dragonhide shop. With his shopping complete Harrison walked into London and back to their flat.

He packed his trunk and started to carve another wand, this time with the yew and unicorn tail feather. This however was a different wand in itself. It was a balance between purity and evil, unicorns and yew. No one could predict what would happen to this wand. If he were to give it to anyone, they would need to be balanced or undecided.

Heading outside the house for a walk Harrison saw a rather gaunt man hunched over walking wearing tattered wizard's robes. He sniffed the air and looked up and around, only to spot Harrison and frown. Harrison glanced again and then realized something. Apparently this person was on the same track as Harrison as he had just realized something. This person was Remus, Remus Lupin. Harrison remembered him from a very old memory. This was of Remus, Harrison, and Harrison's father, James, playing Quidditch _"Or at least a version that was safe"_.

Harrison was shaken from the memory when Remus shook his shoulder and grasped him in a hug, "Harry!" He exclaimed.

"Remus, I haven't seen you in a while."

"And I, you."

"Want me to take you to my flat?"

"You have a flat?!?"

"Yes, do you want me to or not?"

"Very well then."

With his hand in Remus' Harrison walked up to their flat. They spent the rest of the night catching up on the time they had missed.

A.N: OK, I am still on the search for a beta. I can't write Remus too well so I'm sorry if he is not like he is in canon. And now, small plot bit. Harry lived the first years of his life as Harrison Brahms while his parents were Lily and James Brahms. Their friends were still Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They still had the Fidelius but lived in a different place that I am not quite sure, possibly somewhere near where Voldemort's locket was hidden. I hope that helps you sort of understand the storyline a bit more.


	6. 6: A Little Weasel Told Me

Disclaimer: If I were JK Rowling the 7th book would already be out.

Quick A.N:When I say Harry, there is no glamour, when I say Harrison, there is. I will try to uphold that as much as possible.

The rest of summer passed in a blur for Harry. Remus would occasionally visit but otherwise Harry and Seneril were alone. On one of Remus' visits he came during the time Harry was working on Seneril's puzzle. "I am going to prank someone…darn. Ummmmm, I swear will prank someone soon…crud!"

"What are you doing?"

"Working on a puzzle."

"What do you have to do?"

"Oh, Seneril told me I had to say I was pranking."

Remus' eyes widened in recognition and then mused out loud, "I wonder where he got that from. I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Right before Harry's eyes the parchment blossomed with writing: Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs present: The Marauder's Map! Harry's jaw began to drop more and more until he was drooling. "I can think of sooooo many prank opportunities with this."

Remus just laughed and shook his head.

After that particular event Remus was Harry's official prank teacher. He showed Harry the secrets of the Marauder's Map and even tried his luck at discerning what was wrong with Harry and his Animagus form, although he didn't find out.

The morning of September 1st found Harry, Seneril, Remus, and Anguifer, Harry's grass snake, heading through King's Cross towards Platform 9 ¾. Seneril and Anguifer were under an invisibility spell (courtesy of Remus). Remus gave Harry a hug and wished him luck for the school year. Stepping on he searched for an empty compartment and when he was unable to find one he grabbed for one of the nearest compartments and opened it to find a boy with dreadlocks and two boys who had identical red hair and a lot of freckles. The boy with dreadlocks immediately closed a box he was holding but opened it when he saw who it was. "You're Harry Potter!"

"Who?"

"Did you hear that George? Young Harry Potter-

-doesn't know who he is? I did, in fact." "What are the-

-odds of that?"

"You are the-

-Boy-Who-Lived"

"Could you guys stop that, and who is that?"

"Of course, ruin all our fun."

"But we will humour you, just take a seat. A while back, there was a dark lord named Voldemort. Everyone was so scared of him they started calling him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He killed many people during his reign of terror but all of this changed one day. Your parents were away and they had asked Peter Pettigrew to baby sit for them. During the night, Sirius Black, who was the Potters' friend, attacked Peter and incapacitated him he then told his master, Voldemort, the location of the house and they attacked you. All we know is Voldemort is dead and you are alive. Sirius escaped but was caught when he again tried to assault Peter. Peter was killed and Sirius was caught and sent to Azkaban immediately."

"How do you know all of this?"

"It was in the papers."

"We aren't sure of the veracity of the claims."

"But we will take any thing we can get."

"Nice to meet you." Harry said in a daze before plopping into a seat. "Give me a few minutes to absorb this.

"I have no problem with that."

"Nor do I."

When the snack trolley rolled around, Harry immediately picked out his favorites then asked the Weasleys and Lee Jordan if they would like anything. Lee asked for two licorice wands, a sugar quill, and a box of Bertie Botts' but Fred and George passed. "We don't have the money for it."

"Well that's not fair, I'll get you something, what would you like? "I'll take some Bertie Botts."

"Cauldron Cake for me."

"Ok, Cauldron Cake and some Bertie Botts."

"That will be 8 sickles and 4 knuts."

Rummaging in his pockets for his money, Harry handed her the money and passed the Weasley twins their items. Finishing his snacks in record time, Harry took a nap until it was announced that there were 15 minutes to Hogwarts. Pulling on his robes, Harry cleaned up some of the mess and prepared to leave.

AN:

I am sooooo sorry for the huge delay. I was on a trip for a month and my muse was failing me. I couldn't write at all. I hope you like the chapter and I know it is a bit short. I just wanted to cut off at a logical point.

Happy Reading, Lord Vastria


	7. A Serpentine Surprise

Disclaimer: Why do we need these . Anyways, I am NOT J.K. Rowling

Chapter 7

Harry jumped off the train and started to follow his new friends when they stopped him. "You go that way-"

"-not with us"

"Oh, ok, see you up at the castle" Harry walked towards the giant man he now realized was yelling for first years and followed him into boats and up to the castle. The large clump of first years were slowly shepherded up the stairs and up to a large pair of double doors. A witch greeted them there,"Off you go Rubeus. Welcome to Hogwarts, I am your Transfiguration Professor, Professor McGonagall. You are about to be sorted into your respective houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room. Good deeds will earn your house points, while misdeeds will cost you them. For the sorting, I will call your name, you will walk forward to the stool, put on the hat, and then join your respective houses. Any questions? No? Good. We will enter right-"

"RIBBIT"

"Whose toad is this?"

A meek looking boy shouted, "Trevor!" and ran forward.

The professor then said, "I trust you will keep better care of your pets from now on. Prepare yourself." She opened the large doule doors and the students followed her in a line. A ratty looking hat on a stool perked up and began to sing, "'Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you want to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve and chivalry  
Set Griffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

She rattled off a long list of names until she got to the P's. She took a step back as she spoke and her voice quivered, "Potter, Harry" Hushed whispers filled the hall as Harry walked towards the stool. He picked up the hat and plopped it on while scanning the room for his friends Fred and George. He spotted them at the table on the far left and they waved. All of the sudden, a voice popped up inside his head, "Hmm, definately not Gryffindor, nor Hufflepuff."

"Excuse me, who are you?"

"Oh me? I'm just the sorting hat."

"Oh, ok."

"That was one of the more difficult sortings I've had, but I'm already done. You fit your house's characteristics very well, not to mention your little talent. I will place you in SLYTHERIN!" The last part he shouted, as Harry realized later. The whole great hall was silent, then Fred and George started clapping and whooping. He stood up, not understanding why it was so quiet, but shrugged and continued on to the open seat next to Fred and George. As he sat down, McGonagall seemed to snap back to attention and called the rest of the names. As Zabini, Blaise, was being sorted into Slytherin, Dumbeldore stood up to address the students. "I have a few words for you all before you eat. These words are nitwit, oddment, blubber, and tweak. Now tuck in." Food magically appeared on the table and everyone simu ltaneously started to eat. Fred spoke up, "You know Harry, I wasn't really expecting you to go to the house of the cunning. I thought you were going to go with our idiotic brother in Gryffindor."

"Yeah," said George, "I feel sorry for you though, those Gryffindors are right nasty to all the Slytherins. Doesn't matter how many Dark Lords you've vanquished, you're still a slimy snake."

"Just keep your head up and don't trust them farther than you can throw them." Fred concluded.

Harry nodded and kept on eating.

Before he knew it, the feast was over. Dumbeldore stepped back up and spoke once more, "Just a few announcements before we all retire once more. Your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is Proffesor Quirenius Quirrel. I would like to remind First Years, and some others, that the Forbidden Forest was named so for a reason. And lastly, the third floor corridor on the left side is forbidden, for anyone that does not want to die a most painful death." Titters of laughter spread through the hall until people realized that he wasn't kidding. "And now, your prefects will lead you up to your dorms." Everybody at the Slytherin table stood up and followed their prefects out the hall and down a small staircase next to the large Marble staircase down to the dungeons. As they approached a blank stretch of wall with a snake carved into the stone, the prefect spoke, "This is the entrance to the Slytherin common room, the password is Salazar. If you ever get locked out for whatever reason, try hissing, I heard it works. Do not let anyone from the other houses know the password. If there is to be a password change, it will be posted on the common room bulletin board." Harry heard someone running and the prefect smiled. "Additionally, Fred Weasely will be right with us."

Fred, who Harry had never realized was missing, stopped in front of the entrance gasping, "The password gasp is gasp Slytherins Suck gasp."

"For anyone wishing to do anything to the Lions, that is their common room password. Now, lets go inside. Boys on the left, Girls on the right, first year dorms are at the top, now good night."

Anguifer hissed from his hiding place in Harry's robe pocket, "I could get used to this." Harry smiled then staggered up the stairs walked into his room, stripped off his clothes hopped onto his bed and closed the curtains. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

A/N: I'm horrible really, I completely forgot about FFN and my story during school. I will continue updating once more. Remusness and Siriusness coming next chapter.

-Lord Vastria


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